Pot stock eSense is soaring on UK deal but two others may have fallen over

HEAR IT FIRST WITH OUR DAILY NEWSLETTER

It’s a case of win one, lose two for eSense Labs as it gains a UK customer but faces troubles with two earlier deals.

Today eSense Labs (ASX:ESE) said a UK company — which it won’t name — has been testing its synthetic cannabis food additives for the last six months and has ordered seven litres of a lemon strain for a food additive pilot.

The UK deal is exactly the relief investors were looking for after a challenging year including boardroom stoushes.

The shares jumped 73 per cent to 6.5c in early Tuesday trade — though that’s well down from a one-year high of 44.5c — on just $14,537 worth of purchases. The stock is now in a trading halt.

Israel-based eSense makes cannabis “terpene” formulations.

Terpenes are fragrant oils found in plants that carry flavour and aroma. They carry the pungent odour of cannabis and offer some medicinal properties — but they don’t contain THC, the compound that gets you stoned or cannabidiol (CBD), another restricted element in cannabis.

eSense says an agreement with the UK company is currently being negotiated.